Is Free Software Really Free?

There are two kinds of free software: The kind that's free to use, and the kind that's free to own.

Most free software is just free to use. Your computer probably came with a free copy of Microsoft Windows, or Mac OS X Leopard. You're free to use it on your computer. But that's all that you're free to do with it. If you read the fine print, you'll find out that you can't share a copy of Windows with your friend, even if her computer died and she lost the disc to her older version of Windows. And you can't put your copy of Leopard on the new PC that you bought, even if it's more powerful than your Mac, because you're only allowed to install Leopard on Macs.

If you try to do any of these things, you may run into some trouble. Microsoft made it so that every copy of Windows reports in to Microsoft with information about what kind of PC that it's running on. If you try to put that copy of Windows on a different PC, it won't work. Likewise, Leopard won't work on anything but a Mac ... not because it can't, but because Apple doesn't want it to. And while hackers can get around these problems, most of us aren't into hacking.

It gets worse

Here's another thing you aren't allowed to do with software that's just free to use: You don't get to find out what's in it. Imagine if there were no ingredient labels on the food you buy at the store. They could use dried cockroach shells to make snack food more crunchy, and you'd never know. Sounds tasty, doesn't it?

Most of us don't know how to read the millions of lines of programming code that go into writing our software. (I know I certainly don't.) But a lot of people do, and when they have the freedom to read that programming code they can let everyone else know if something's wrong.

How wrong can it get? Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser is used by millions and millions of people, because it's free and it comes with your free copy of Windows. But in 2004, the US Government issued a warning telling people to stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer, and switch to another browser like Firefox. That's because Internet Explorer is so vulnerable to attack that it's easy for people to use it to take over your PC.

Why is that?

Apparently, Microsoft isn't too good at fixing the holes in their software. But they're the only ones who get to see their software's programming code, so if they don't fix it, nobody does.

But that's not the only thing Microsoft does. They actually do do things that are almost like putting cockroach shells in your food. For instance, in 2007 Microsoft installed a "stealth update" on millions of Windows PCs, without telling people that they were doing it or even what they were updating. When caught in the act, they said that they were updating the updater ... but to do what? Does anyone outside of Microsoft know for sure?

A lot of people were concerned about this. Many were even angry, and said that Microsoft had no right to do that to their PCs. But Microsoft had every right to do it. They weren't harming your PC's hardware; they were adding things to the copy of Windows that ran on it. And "your" copy of Windows belongs to them.

So what is the other kind of free software?

Free / Open-Source Software is software that is free to own. You can make copies of it if you like, and give them away to your friends. And programmers can read the lines of programming code, find out what the program does, and write new things that are based on it.

A lot of companies use and write Free / Open-Source Software, like IBM, Novell and Google. But a lot of individual people and volunteers write it, too, or write changes and make their own versions of it. Because it's Free / Open-Source, anyone can. And because it's Free / Open-Source, anytime one person makes an improvement to it, everyone benefits.

Free / Open-Source Software still has bugs in it. But the more people are working on it, the fewer bugs it has, and the better it gets. Some Free / Open-Source Software is really obscure, and may not work as intended. But other Free / Open-Source projects are huge. They have thousands of volunteers and corporate employees working on them, and making them better for everyone.

Where can I find this Free / Open-Source Software?

If you're reading this article in the Internet Explorer web browser, you probably want to switch to a Free / Open-Source web browser right away to make sure that your PC doesn't get infected. The most popular Free / Open-Source web browser is called Firefox, and you can download it at http://www.getfirefox.com.

Firefox looks and works a lot like Internet Explorer. In fact, it will copy your Internet Explorer bookmarks over once you've installed it, so that you don't miss a beat in your web surfing. But it's more than just a safer web browser. There are hundreds of cool and useful add-ons you can download for Firefox, from add-ons that make it look shinier to add-ons that help you keep track of your eBay bidding, or your MySpace and Facebook friends lists. You can see just a few of the add-ons available by visiting https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/fashionyourfirefox.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can try out a whole Free / Open-Source operating system, called Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an African word that means "Humanity to others," and their logo shows three people holding hands. It is extremely popular, and was recently featured in the New York Times.

How to join in the fun

If you've ever had to reinstall Windows on your PC, you know that installing an operating system can be a hassle. Ubuntu makes it easy, though. You can download it CD from http://www.ubuntu.com/products/GetUbuntu/download, and then burn it to CD. And if you have a slow connection, or can't burn CDs, you can have them mail you a free CD at https://shipit.ubuntu.com/.

Once you get your CD, you can try Ubuntu out right from the CD without installing anything. Or if you want, you can just pop the CD in while you're running Windows and install it like any other Windows program. Then when you restart your PC, you can choose to start either Windows or Ubuntu.

Ubuntu has a number of amazing features that aren't found in Windows, like the ability to choose from thousands of Free / Open-Source games and applications to install for free. It's also immune, for all intents and purposes, to viruses and spyware. Because it didn't come with your PC, it may not work with everything on it ... but you can find help by asking the volunteers at http://www.ubuntuforums.org. If you're polite, they will explain what you can do to fix things, in plain English. And if you decide that you do not like Ubuntu, you can just go to your Windows Control Panel and uninstall it.

The Upshot

Not all Free / Open-Source Software is as "good" as software that's just free to use. Most Free / Open-Source games, for example, aren't as exciting as their "free" online counterparts. And while OpenOffice.org can edit Microsoft Office documents, it doesn't always format them perfectly, and its industrial design looks ugly to me.

Against games and office suites that can cost hundreds of dollars, though, you just can't beat the price. And the best Free / Open-Source Software, like Ubuntu and Firefox, keeps getting better and better the more people use it. How much better? Try it for yourself, and find out! And have fun!